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Saturn
Saturn was the first emperor of the Ascani Empire and a prophet of Saclis, often depicted as a god-on-earth. Saturn led the reformation of the Saclis mystery as well as establishing theocratic rule over Ascanium, which by the time of his death encompassed most of Merovia. He is an extremely complex and controversial figure. Saturn was initially a shadow emperor who ruled from behind the scenes, and by the end of his rule had become a man-eating giant, and his rule became tyranny for a few short years until he was defeated at the hands of the Rosicrucians. Saturn descended from the stars and arrived as a prophet to the monasteries in the Ivies on 25 July 21 NCE. He initially only wished to share his truths on reforming the Saclis mysteries, but after the Castigation of Espios, Saturn arrived in Lenorum with the Rosicrucians to initiate the Excision. Resistance from the Anti-Parish led to prolonged political conflict until his Senior Warden was executed after Gaius Olivius ascended to emperor. The Worm-God would remain in Lenorum for almost two centuries, performing clandestine operations to organize an eventual coup d'etat in CE 182. Though Gaius Olivius returned to Solernia quickly after learning of this, the death of the emperor secured Rosicrucian control of Lenorum, and Saturn revealed himself as the true emperor to the new Ascani Empire. Saturn's rule of the Ascani Empire lasted for several centuries, his worm-like form becoming more like that of a giant as a face, arms, and legs were produced from his body. He had a single son, Pan, who served as his Senior Warden for decades. Over time, the Worm-God isolated himself further from all but his Senior Warden, and his decrees became more bizarre and hinged on prophecy and portents. Pan was accosted by a mob in the streets of Lenorum and reproached Saturn to address the concerns of the Ascani citizens. When Pan failed to emerge, the Rosicrucians burst into Saturn's chambers to discover the very humanoid Saturn ripping apart Pan with his teeth. The Worm-God was restrained with chains by the other wardens until he died from a blood clot from the tightness of his restraints, ending his life. Speculation persists on the true identity of Saturn, and whether he was truly the planet in the night sky or if he was merely an imposter who sought power. He is often referenced as an example of a tyrant and a despot, though most of his rule was quite benevolent. Saturn is the only saint in the religion of Saclis to have his canonization rescinded and reversed into being declared anathema. Biography Saturn appears to the Catalani Discovery The Catalani of the Ivies mountain chains comprised a cluster of communities that revered Saclis, unlike the clergy of Melakesh that made up most of Corrivalia and Solernia. The monasteries in the eastern Ivies were particularly influential, and had proactive missions to relocate Saclis worshipers to the Ivies so their practice of their religion could remain uninterrupted. Saturn appeared in the Lavra Rhea, a distinguished monastery in one of the higher summits of the Ivies within a few miles of the sea. He initially remained hidden, only leaving small clues to his existence with friars and entering their dreams to suggest his presence. Food and water would never spoil and choirs had no issues with attaining the correct notes for weeks leading into Saturn's discovery. He was found concealed in an old refectory beneath the current monastery, where he revealed himself to be the Worm-God Saturn, an avatar of Saclis. Following his discovery, news of the god's descent was kept a closely guarded secret in Lavra Rhea for decades; Saturn declared to his parish that these were the end of days, and his faithful needed to be equipped with his wisdom and his teachings in order to overcome the coming night. Reformation His reformations of the Saclis mysteries were sweeping and, if not for his clear authority, may have even been interpreted as blasphemous. Along with removing all holidays except for the veneration of the solstices and the equinoxes, Saturn characterized Saclis in a more universal context than in terms of the open sky and as a god of seasons, which was the case for thousands of years. Saturn incorporated ideas usually associated with the mysteries of Mim Kapal, such as the idea of the ouroboros ''as a divine symbol of eternity. Saturn defined the god of Saclis in a very broad and abstract sense, completely going against prior conceptions of the god being the sky itself, a god of open plans and of horses, or a god that was simultaneously the sun and moon. Saclis in Saturn's reformation was a god of time, change, and embodied the movement of the world itself. Saturn also proposed that, unlike other gods, Saclis was too massive of a concept to be embodied in merely one avatar, as Saturn had presented himself. Rather, the god encompassed a number of entities including the clouds, the horizon, and of course, the sun and moon. At the heart of the new Saclis mysteries was the conception of duality and the power of three, rebirth, and strict philosophical identity, which has led to a very dense and expansive religious mystery that has since grown to be one of the largest religions in the world. Formation of the Rosicrucians Shortly following the Castigation of Espios, Saturn suggested sharing his existence with the other Catalani monasteries, but did not directly command his monks to do so. Several monks traveling between monasteries shared the news of Saturn and the story spread quickly throughout the Ivies and beyond, becoming a sort of myth signifying the end of days. With the initiation of Lonen's siege of Lenorum, the Thirty Years' Siege, Saturn recognized that not only was his mere presence a threat to Lavra Rhea and beyond, but he informed his parish that it was his duty to offer himself to the people of the Dinamid Republic in order to help them stave off the brutal siege. Most of the writings detailing the travel between these locations are incomplete and offer little explanation for how the massive Worm-God appeared inconspicuously in Lenorum, as well as where Saturn stayed for his initial year of activity. Scholars speculate that Saturn tunneled beneath Lavra Rhea to the city, but evidence has yet to be uncovered supporting this. The monks of Lavra Rhea were universally loyal to Saturn and formed a covert organization to garner support for their Worm-God, signaling the creation of the Rosicrucians. Saturn managed to attract venerates of Saclis by sharing previously esoteric and well-concealed scholarly works penned by the monks in the centuries since the Catalani first retreated to the Ivies; chiefly among these was the Saturnite Astrological Chart, which was a simple but effective diagram that served as evergreen evidence of Saturn's eternal wisdom for those who worshiped Saclis. The chart eventually became a sort of symbol for Saturn in his early career in Lenorum, and the local authorities united in an Anti-Parish to snuff out the growing resentment among the impoverished, disenfranchised, and lower-caste Dinamid citizens to little effect. The Cultural Cleanse Origins The concept of the Cultural Cleanse began with Saturn alone, who suggested to the early Rosicrucians that to "rebirth" Dinam as a free and equitable society, all of its cultural heritage would need to be erased. In a rather ominous and prophetic statement, Saturn purportedly said, "There are many things that need to be erased; we will be the ones to erase them." The crux of Saturn's plan was to destroy any and all historical, cultural, and religious relics that pertained to the cults of Melakesh, the Kingdom of Themyscria, and its ensuing Dinamid Republic. In multiple letters to one of his wardens, Saturn expressed his disbelief that humans would be able to leave behind the past and it would require a "bleak, but necessary, fiery baptism" to remove what he deemed corrupting influences of Dinam's past. In one such letter, he wrote, There is an expression I'm searching for, that I cannot recall in the present moment; for the purposes of my letter, I shall refer to it as "historic melancholy." I refer to the obsession that mankind has with the past, in such that they refuse to see the present, much less the future, for its current and objective state. Men maintain a dim, morose gaze like the embers of a guttering candle, as the world passes on around them, without them, until it flickers into darkness for the final time. Indeed, this time we live in is uneasy and turbulent, but to hold that candle's gaze at the past as if it were somehow superior, is simply a function of that melancholy. It is time we give mankind a past worth reliving. In sharp contrast to his eventual successor Titus Augustus, Saturn apparently held that past influences merely force mankind to repeat its mistakes, and to move past those historic cycles, the past must be erased entirely. Execution and influence The Cultural Cleanse, in practice, underpins the decline in Dinamid culture in the Old World and the destruction of many important Dinamid structures. Books, poems, and art were burned in massive Cultural Bonfires in the streets of Lenorum, with believers of Saclis viciously beating anyone who tried to douse the flames. Frescoes were smashed with hammers and statues knocked over in the middle of the night. Saturn oversaw this from a locked chamber in the Lenorum Catacombs, where he met with Rosicrucian leaders. The unrest caused by devotees of Saclis, mostly a Hiberian and Catalani underclass, systematically erasing the culture of patricians consolidated power of the opposition into a number of patricians called the Anti-Parish. This group, consisting of the wealthiest patricians Velzar, Cas the Spider, and Visello, who helped protect certain elements of Dinamid culture or otherwise thwarting the Cultural Cleanse at various turns. Notably, Velzar performed a ritual before the City of Marble that locked its doors and made its walls impregnable. This prevented the destruction of its most valuable artifacts, including busts of former Kaisers. Velzar is credited as the central actor in the Anti-Parish. Violence in the streets between the Anti-Parish and Rosicrucians over the course of thirty years continued with no side attaining victory or an advantage. The Anti-Parish was able to funnel goods into the city quite easily through the catacombs, but of course the Rosicrucians had defectors able to fund their own operations as well by taking from the Anti-Parish. The funds of both sides were vast, yet over time, influence of the Anti-Parish diminished as more artifacts were lost, people died and were born in the conflict, and their ability to end the destruction of Lenorum proved fruitless. By CE 27, only a few scholars remained in Lenorum, others fleeing or being murdered by the Rosicrucians. Among those survivors was Mycenus the Elder, creator of the modern calendar, and Vecaetaenius, a future Goodfellow siege engineer. The best a scholar could hope for was a place in Velzar's estate, and most survivors of the Cultural Cleanse were patronized and harbored in his magnificent estate in the upper levels of the city. Outside of Lenorum, Saturn's Rosicrucians performed the same activities under the discretion of Catalani monks. The monks were able to infiltrate and drive out the clergy of other temples and establish their own base of operations. Fearful of their mystical power, local populations often did little to resist the new owners of local monasteries and temples of Melakesh. In other areas, Saclis was widely worshiped, and such behavior was welcomed by lower classes. Here, too, Catalani monks began to destroy remnants of Dinamid culture. End of the Cultural Cleanse Having done little to end the siege himself, Saturn occupied his manpower into hostile takeovers of religious institutions and destruction of cultural relics. When Gaius Virilo Olivius, in CE 30, arrived in Lenorum and ended the siege within a few weeks, Saturn's support among moderate citizens diminished. Virilo was able to parade into the heart of Lenorum, at the site of the Senate house (at this point outfitted like a fortress), and scattered magnolia flowers on the place his father was murdered. Among other actions, this silent march into the city helped turn popular opinion in favor of the Anti-Parish, now seeing what was lost and who could revive it. Distributions of ''I Bring Peace, a manifesto written by Virilo, also helped influence the populace. Rosicrucians were chased out of the streets and attacked by even the plebeians of Lenorum, who felt empowered by Gaius Virilo. Most spread into the countryside of Solernia and Corrivalia, where they regrouped with their brothers in their monasteries. Virilo, over the course of the next three years, worked with the remaining Anti-Parish and Senators to isolate Saturn. However, they could not find his location nor the majority of the Rosicrucians, thus their search ended in CE 34. Apparent dormancy Saturn, paranoid thanks to Gaius Olivius, isolated himself further and restricted access to himself to one person, whom he named Pedagos (roughly translated into Ascani Common as "Warden"). The Warden's instructions were given at noon every day, and the Warden arranged various activities to take place through drop sites, intimidation, and blackmail. Beginning in CE 38, when Gaius Olivius began his campaigns across Arborea, Saturn had his monks cooperate with Olivius and pretend to convert to Melakesh. If Olivius replaced them nonetheless, which was often the case, Saturn would systematically have cohorts within towns and villages collect blackmail on the monastery's clergy. The most common method was called "pocketing." This began with selling spiked "monastery wine" with extreme amounts of poppy extract to a local patrician. After they pass out, Rosicrucians would enter the estate covertly and arrange it to appear like an opium den. They would then bring in a woman, usually a prostitute, and have her slain and dismembered. When the patrician awoke, he knew he could not approach the monastery or risk being executed. However, Catalani monks would appear and tell the patrician he had hired them the previous night to absolve him of his sins, should he pay an "indulgence," a nominal fee. This helped fill Rosicrucian coffers, and "pocket" the local patrician for further favors in replacing the Melakesh monks with Saclis monks, lest the former ever uncover the "truth." During this period after Olivius conquered Arborea, Rosicrucians would spend over one hundred years slowly "pocketing" or otherwise gaining influence in rural areas, while limiting activities in Lenorum to a grind.Category:Emperors of Ascanium Category:Heroic mysteries Category:Solernians Category:Characters Category:Mad rulers